University of Essex staff not to blame for strike action, says union
Lecturers and other personnel at the institution voted in favour of strike action, or action short of a strike at ballots held last month
Students at the University of Essex can except disruptions to their studies after it was revealed that 76 per cent of University and College Union (UCU) who took part in a ballot last month, voted for a strike or some kind of industrial action over the cuts to their pensions. In total, academics from 37 universities across the UK have agreed that some kind of industrial action is required
Alex Eastwood is the regional support official for the East at the UCU. The issues arose after an evaluation of the Universities Superannuation Scheme, which is the staff pension fund, in March last year found that the either employer pension contributions had to rise or the pension amounts had to be cut to meet the deficit that existed.
Mr Eastwood says the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and impending lockdowns played a role in creating a deficit and that the trustees have refused to conduct a revaluation of the scheme now that markets have recovered. He also adds that employers, the universities, decided to cut staff pensions by 35 per cent without consulting the staff. This is the heart of the matter.
"We put forward some alternative proposals at the start of this process, and we're not saying it's either this or nothing else. We're not wedded to these proposals but so far the employers haven't engaged in any discussions with us. What we're saying now is that they have to come to the negotiating table, pretty rapidly now, otherwise our members will have to take industrial action", he adds.
What that will look like is still unclear at this stage but the union's higher education committee will meet soon to decide what the next steps are going to be. Mr. Eastwood says the situation doesn't need to end in a strike but that if the issue with University Superannuation Scheme evaluations, which has caused strikes in 2018 and 2019, is not resolved then members will have to take some kind of stand. He says they are also calling on universities to join their efforts to achieve reforms to the superannuation scheme that they want to go ahead.
As mentioned earlier, students at the universities affected, including in Essex have only recently been attending classes offline and on-campus. Any action could mean further disruptions to their education. Mr Eastwood says he sympathises with the students but adds that staff have been put in this position by employers: "Saying that staff are wrong for objecting to a 35 percent cut to their pensions, is I think placing the blame on the wrong end."
Mr Eastwood adds that students around the country have been largely supportive of the union's decision. " They realise that staff working conditions affect their learning conditions. Without properly paid and well-motivated staff, they're not going to receive the same quality of education as they are receiving now. For these reasons, students are generally supportive of our efforts to take action and we've already received letters of support from national unions of students", he says.